1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a frying pan which is constructed to provide a simple way to remove juice, that is produced in the cooking of food, away from the food and be dispensed exteriorly of the frying pan without tilting of the frying pan to such an extent that the foodstuff is able to become dislodged.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Within recent years there has been a requirement by a great number of people to reduce cholesterol and fat within food intake. Meat items generally have a tendency to release a comparatively large quantity of fat upon frying. The fat becomes liquid during the frying operation. When using the conventional top of the stove frying pan, the fat accumulates at the bottom of the pan. This fat forms a liquid layer in the pan and this fat gets deeper and deeper as the frying process continues. As a result, the food item becomes soaked in the liquid fat and eating such food is notoriously detrimental to the consumer's body.
Several attempts have been made, in the past, to design a low fat frying pan. A common form of such a design is a frying pan where the frying chamber includes a grease gutter located therein. The purpose is for the juice which includes grease and other liquids to collect within the gutter which is spaced from the area of where the food is being cooked. One of the disadvantages of such a frying pan is that frequently the amount of juice that is produced is greater than the volume of the gutter which results again in the food being cooked while being soaked within grease.
Another design is to provide for merely tilting of the frying pan and draining the frying chamber of juice during the cooking process. This draining may occur a plurality of times during the cooking process. One of the major disadvantages of this operation is that in order to affect the draining operation the frying pan has to be tilted to an almost vertical position which means that the food that is being cooked has a tendency and frequently does fall from the frying chamber. As a result, the food may fall on the floor or on the countertop, and in both instances, creates an unslightly mess and possibly contaminates the food with dirt or germs.
There has also been known to use a rib type of frying pan with the idea that the food is placed atop the ribs during the cooking operation. The juice is to drain away from the food and be conducted into the grooves between the ribs. One disadvantage of this type of frying pan is that only a fraction of the cooking surface is in contact with the food item which results in a much increased time and a lack of crispness of the fried item.